The Glass Coffin (Grimm)
Short summary
A German forest, fairy tale times. A tailor got lost in the woods and spent the night with an old hermit.
Next morning, he witnessed a fierce battle between a black bull and a stag. The stag won and carried the tailor on its horns to a rock wall, where a door opened revealing an underground hall. Following a mysterious voice's instructions, he descended deeper and discovered two glass chests. One contained a miniature castle, the other held a beautiful maiden in a glass coffin.
When she opened her eyes, she cried out:
Just Heaven! My deliverance is at hand! Quick, quick, help me out of my prison; if thou pushest back the bolt of this glass coffin, then I shall be free.
She revealed a magician had imprisoned her, turned her brother into the stag, and shrunk her castle. They restored everything. Her brother killed the magician as the bull. The maiden married the tailor.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The lost tailor finds shelter with the mysterious old man
Let no one ever say that a poor tailor cannot do great things and win high honors; all that is needed is that he should go to the right smithy, and what is of most consequence, that he should have good luck.
A young tailor's apprentice set out traveling and became lost in a great forest as night fell. Fear of wild beasts prevented him from sleeping on the soft moss, so he climbed high into an oak tree for safety, grateful for his goose that kept him from being blown away by the wind.
Seeing a distant light, he climbed down and found a small hut made of reeds and rushes. An old man wearing a coat of colored patches initially refused him shelter but eventually softened to his pleas and provided him with food and a bed for the night.
The battle of the bull and stag; the magical journey
The next morning, violent screaming and roaring awakened the tailor. Outside the hut, he witnessed a fierce battle between a great black bull and a beautiful stag. The ground shook with their trampling until the stag finally thrust his horns into the bull's body, killing him with a terrific roar.
Before the tailor could escape, the victorious stag caught him up on its great horns and carried him in a swift race over mountains, valleys, woods, and meadows. The journey felt like flying until the stag stopped before a wall of rock and gently set him down.
The stag pushed its horns against a door in the rock, which sprang open, releasing flames and smoke that hid the stag from sight.
The underground halls and the maiden in the glass coffin
A mysterious voice from the rock commanded the tailor to enter without fear. Driven by an unknown force, he obeyed and passed through an iron door into a spacious hall with shining stone walls, ceiling, and floor covered in unknown letters.
Enter without fear, no evil shall befall you thee... Step on the stone which lies in the middle of the hall, and great good fortune awaits thee.
When he stepped on the central stone, it sank slowly into the depths, carrying him to a lower hall. There he found glass vases filled with colored spirits and two great glass chests. One contained a miniature castle with farm buildings, perfectly crafted in every detail.
In the second chest lay a maiden of extraordinary beauty, wrapped in her long fair hair like a precious mantle. Though her eyes were closed, her bright complexion and the ribbon that moved with her breathing showed she was alive. Suddenly she opened her eyes and begged him to free her from her glass prison.
The maidens story of the evil magicians curse
The tailor immediately freed her, and she covered herself with a cloak before kissing him and declaring him her heaven-sent deliverer and chosen husband.
My long-desired deliverer, kind Heaven has guided thee to me, and put an end to my sorrows. On the selfsame day when they end, shall thy happiness begin.
She told her story: she was the daughter of a rich count who died young, leaving her in the care of her elder brother. They loved each other so tenderly that both resolved never to marry but to remain together always. One evening, a stranger came seeking shelter at their castle.
That night, the stranger used magic to enter her locked room and propose marriage. When she refused to answer, he angrily vowed revenge. The next morning, she found her brother gone and rode into the forest, where she encountered the stranger leading a stag with tears in its eyes. When she shot at him, the bullet rebounded and killed her horse, and he rendered her unconscious with magic words.
Breaking the curse and the wedding of the tailor and maiden
The magician had transformed her brother into the stag, shrunk her castle into the glass chest, and turned her people into smoke trapped in bottles. Together, the maiden and tailor used the magic stone to carry the castle to the surface, where it expanded to its natural size. They freed her people from the bottles, and her brother returned in human form after killing the magician. That same day, the grateful maiden married her brave deliverer.